|
|
|
Conservatives
Give Obama Big Thumbs Up for his Faith-Based Plan
 Barack Obama’s
announcement of plans to not only maintain but to expand President
Bush’s beloved faith-based programs apparently softened
conservatives and Christian voters who had feared the initiative would
be dismantled if a liberal Democrat were to take over the White House.
The federal program that seeks to make it easier for faith-based
organizations to get federal funding for social activities was not
enough to “win over the evangelicals,” but it would
“diminish some of the hostility” towards Obama by
social conservatives who strongly oppose his positions on abortion and
gay “marriage,” said conservative commentator
Patrick Buchanan on MSNBC last week.
“It
looks like he’s reaching out to them … It’s a win
for him,” said the same Buchanan who had defended Dr. James
Dobson’s criticism of Obama “distorting” the Bible to
support his “own worldview” and “confused
theology.”
Meanwhile, well-connected Christian Broadcasting Network correspondent
David Brody informed CNN viewers and readers that reaction to
Obama’s speech from the Christian community he covers was
“relatively positive.”
Brody added that Obama “has seemed to be one step ahead when it comes to this faith-and-politics intersection.”
Recently, Obama met with dozens of prominent Christian leaders,
including Franklin Graham, and also launched the Joshua Generation
Project to reach out to young people of faith.
But presumptive Republican nominee John McCain also scored big last
week with religious voters when some 100 conservative Christian leaders
“agreed to unite behind” McCain’s candidacy.
Among those who attended the Denver gathering was Phil Burress of the
Ohio Christian Alliance, according to Time magazine. Burress had
earlier said of McCain, “We don’t like him and he
doesn’t like us,” according to the Los Angeles Times. But
he had a change of heart after meeting privately with McCain along with
several pro-life leaders late June.
However, Burress and other evangelical leaders have urged McCain to
pick a social-conservative running mate and to talk more openly about
value voter issues, such as abortion and gay “marriage.”
“We need something from Senator McCain to help rev up our
people,” Burress said, according to the Dallas Morning News.
“Our people are flat. They don’t seem interested.”
McCain has been hesitant to talk too strongly on values voters’
issues for fear of offending independent voters, which he is counting
on to win the election.
Rick Scarborough, an ordained pastor who founded the conservative group
Vision America, said he is motivated to help McCain get into the White
House not because of McCain, but because of Obama.
“I am now committed to doing everything I can within my power to
get John McCain elected,” Scarborough said, according to the
Dallas Morning News, “because I am 100 percent committed to
seeing that Barack Obama is not elected.”
A CNN poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation in June found
nearly two-thirds of white evangelical voters surveyed (64 percent)
supported McCain, and 30 percent backed Obama.
Source: ChristianPost
Rate
this Article:
Tell
Us What You Think.
|
|
|
Subscribe to Our RSS Feed